PEC - Volume Two

North Carolina District Schools Are Thriving Fiscally alongside Charter-School Growth

Erik S. Root

Pages: 7 – 28 | First Published: August 2019

Abstract

Despite recent studies that purport to show charter schools cost district schools fiscally, this study demonstrates such studies reflect biased modeling. Drawing data from the comprehensive annual financial reports of certain districts, this study finds that the district schools are increasing their revenues, even when adjusting for inflation. Furthermore, the study finds that the proportion of districts’ funding from the state matches their share of student enrollment. Charter schools are not harming their public school counterparts and are in fact being denied their equal share of funding, as the legal record has established.